Tips for Birders
Learn to identify species, choose the birding right gear, support conservation, and more.
Getting Started
Choosing and Using Binoculars
Young birder with binoculars. Photo by Bill Thompson, III. Choosing your binoculars Every birder needs binoculars. If you’re lucky you might be…
10 Tips for Getting Started in Birdwatching
Photo by W. Clark It is no secret that the number of bird watchers has climbed exponentially since March 2020 and the…
Top 10 Tips for Better Bird Watching
Anyone can see a bird. Just go outside and look around. No matter where you are you should see birds. Bird watchers…
How To: Avoiding Binocular “Warbler Neck”
With proper technique, your birding can be a source of great joy, rather than a pain in the neck. Birders joke about…
Top 10 Ways to Get Better at Bird Identification
Many backyard bird watchers struggle to identify certain birds. This is perfectly natural. Almost every bird watcher—even a seasoned pro—gets stumped once…
Keeping a Bird Watching Journal
It is said that the difference between a person who simply enjoys nature and a true naturalist is that a naturalist keeps…
What is a Field Guide?
The first step towards becoming a birder is getting your hands on a good field guide. A field guide is a collection…
Resources for Young Birders
Two young birders study the Young Birder’s Guide by Bill Thompson, III. Join a Bird Club! Joining a club is one of…
Why Do We Bird?
Why do we bird? Is it our hunting instinct sublimated? Could it be that our penchant for collecting is being positively perverted?…
Bird Species
Acadian Flycatcher
Look for Song is often an important clue in identifying the little gray and greenish flycatchers. In the South, the Acadian is…
Acorn Woodpecker
Look for Loud, active, and boldly marked, the acorn woodpecker is hard to miss. Both males and females are black-backed and have…
Allen’s Hummingbird
Native to the Pacific Coast from southern California to southwestern Oregon, the 3 ¾-inch Allen’s hummingbird sports a bronze-green back and flame-colored…
American Avocet
Look For The graceful curves of the American avocet’s bill and neck serve it well as it feeds while walking along, sweeping…
American Bittern
Look for American bitterns are a plump, medium-seized wading bird with a stout neck and a bill that has a heavy base….
American Black Duck
Look For The black duck is a medium-sized dabbling duck with a dark charcoal body. Males and females are very similar, though…
American Coot
What Does an American Coot Look Like? What looks like a duck and acts like a duck, but is not a duck?…
American Crow
Look for An unrelieved glossy black from bill to toenail, crows are armed with a stout, strong bill that acts as a…
American Goldfinch
Look For The bright canary-yellow and black plumage of the breeding male American goldfinch has earned this species the nickname “wild canary.”…
Birding Optics & Gear
Buying Optics for Children? Here are a Few Tips!
Shopping for optics for a young, budding bird watcher comes with its own unique set of challenges. Do you choose very inexpensive…
The Well-Equipped Birder: A Review of the RYO Ultra-light Bino Harness
Depending upon your physique, a conventional neck strap toting a full-sized binocular makes for some severe fatigue after a long session of…
The Well-Equipped Birder: Bino Dock Keeps Optics Handy
Sometimes, when one is hustling to get to work or an appointment, a streak of feathery color zips in front of the…
How To: Avoiding Binocular “Warbler Neck”
With proper technique, your birding can be a source of great joy, rather than a pain in the neck. Birders joke about…
Choosing Pocket Binoculars for Bird Watching
The best binoculars in the world are useless i. You know the story. You left them home because they were too heavy…
How to Use Binoculars: Helpful Tips for the Field
The most useful binoculars for bird watching incorporate a few basic features. They have a central focus wheel and a diopter focus…
Merlin 101: As Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
I have several birding apps on my phone, but there is only one that I really use, and I use it almost…
Choosing and Using Binoculars
Young birder with binoculars. Photo by Bill Thompson, III. Choosing your binoculars Every birder needs binoculars. If you’re lucky you might be…
The Swarovski NL Pure 8×32: An Unboxing
If any of you out there spend any significant time with young children, you are probably familiar with the YouTube phenomenon of…
Bird Conservation
Aftermath: The Gulf Oil Spill
What are the short- and long-term effects? Whenever the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of…
Bird Conservation at Home
If all bird watchers simply performed one of these solutions, we would still save the lives of millions of our favorite birds…
Christmas Bird Counting
A long-standing program sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the Christmas Bird Count takes place each winter from December 14 to January…
Commentary: The Ivory-bill, Found
A team of ornithologists organized by Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology has rediscovered at least one male ivory-billed woodpecker, alive and well and…
Help for Migratory Birds: The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp
In addition to waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans), many other birds have benefited directly from stamp revenues. Among them are waterbirds (like…
Protecting the Sandhill Crane
Does the state of Tennessee really need to open a season on sandhill cranes? by Julie Zickefoose Those of you who read…
Rare Bird Focus: The Endangered Kirtland’s Warbler
The endangered Kirtland’s warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler (Parulidae) family. It is a fascinating bird for…
Rediscovery: The Golden-crowned Manakin
In terms of biodiversity, no other wilderness area can compete with the Amazonian Rainforest. Amazonia is the vast region of intricate rainforest…
Saving the Wakarusa Wetlands
Saving the Wakarusa Wetlands: Land Development and the Project to Mitigate its Impact by Dave McDermott, excerpted from the November/December 2010 issue…
Young Birders
Buying Optics for Children? Here are a Few Tips!
Shopping for optics for a young, budding bird watcher comes with its own unique set of challenges. Do you choose very inexpensive…
Lucy’s Life List: The Perfect Gift for Young Birders
Earlier this year, I reviewed for Bird Watcher’s Digest a sweet children’s book written by Sally Deems-Mogyordy and illustrated by our November/December…
Nemesis No More
Clearwing hummingbird moth. Photo by publicdomainpictures.net. August is one of the quietest months of the year for birders. I have a handful…
A Snowy Surprise
“Snowy Owls” by Niccolo. Photo by J. Melfi. My eight-year-old son is a rising birder, and he often surprises me with various…
It’s National Moth Week!
Photo by J. Melfi. One of the many (many, many…) side effects of becoming a birder is that once you start noticing…
You Know You’re a Bird Nerd When…
BWD Assistant Editor Jessica Melfi and son dissect an owl pellet. Last winter during our annual Christmas Bird Count in southeastern Ohio,…
Top 10 Reasons to Be a Young Birder
Why should a kid become a birder? Here are some reasons why we, being young birders, think you should: BWD Editor Bill…
Where Do Birds Go At Night?
Before falling asleep, most birds seek shelter from predators and weather. This is vital to their survival because a sleeping bird is…
Resources for Young Birders
Two young birders study the Young Birder’s Guide by Bill Thompson, III. Join a Bird Club! Joining a club is one of…
Frequently Asked Bird Questions
Aftermath: The Gulf Oil Spill
What are the short- and long-term effects? Whenever the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of…
Bird Conservation at Home
If all bird watchers simply performed one of these solutions, we would still save the lives of millions of our favorite birds…
Christmas Bird Counting
A long-standing program sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the Christmas Bird Count takes place each winter from December 14 to January…
Commentary: The Ivory-bill, Found
A team of ornithologists organized by Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology has rediscovered at least one male ivory-billed woodpecker, alive and well and…
Help for Migratory Birds: The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp
In addition to waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans), many other birds have benefited directly from stamp revenues. Among them are waterbirds (like…
Protecting the Sandhill Crane
Does the state of Tennessee really need to open a season on sandhill cranes? by Julie Zickefoose Those of you who read…
Rare Bird Focus: The Endangered Kirtland’s Warbler
The endangered Kirtland’s warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler (Parulidae) family. It is a fascinating bird for…
Rediscovery: The Golden-crowned Manakin
In terms of biodiversity, no other wilderness area can compete with the Amazonian Rainforest. Amazonia is the vast region of intricate rainforest…
Saving the Wakarusa Wetlands
Saving the Wakarusa Wetlands: Land Development and the Project to Mitigate its Impact by Dave McDermott, excerpted from the November/December 2010 issue…
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